Graves

1
[ grahv; French grav ]
/ grɑv; French grav /

noun

a wine-growing district in Gironde department, in SW France.
a dry, red or white table wine produced in this region.

Definition for graves (2 of 6)

Graves 2
[ greyvz ]
/ greɪvz /

noun

Morris,1910–2001, U.S. painter.
Robert (Ran·ke) [rahng-kuh] /ˈrɑŋ kə/,1895–1985, English poet, novelist, and critic.

Definition for graves (3 of 6)

grave 1
[ greyv ]
/ greɪv /

noun

an excavation made in the earth in which to bury a dead body.
any place of interment; a tomb or sepulcher: a watery grave.
any place that becomes the receptacle of what is dead, lost, or past: the grave of unfulfilled ambitions.
death: O grave, where is thy victory?

Origin of grave

1
before 1000; Middle English; Old English græf; cognate with German Grab; see grave3

OTHER WORDS FROM grave

grave·less, adjective grave·like, adjective grave·ward, grave·wards, adverb, adjective

Definition for graves (4 of 6)

grave 2
[ greyv; for 4, 6 also grahv ]
/ greɪv; for 4, 6 also grɑv /

adjective, grav·er, grav·est for 1–3, 5.

serious or solemn; sober: a grave person; grave thoughts.
weighty, momentous, or important: grave responsibilities.
threatening a seriously bad outcome or involving serious issues; critical: a grave situation; a grave illness.
Grammar.
  1. unaccented.
  2. spoken on a low or falling pitch.
  3. noting or having a particular accent (`) indicating originally a comparatively low pitch (as in French père), distinct syllabic value (as in English belovèd), etc. (opposed to acute).
(of colors) dull; somber.

noun

the grave accent.

Origin of grave

2
1535–45; < Middle French < Latin gravis; akin to Greek barýs heavy

SYNONYMS FOR grave

1 sedate, staid, thoughtful. Grave, sober, solemn refer to the condition of being serious in demeanor or appearance. Grave indicates a weighty dignity, or the character, aspect, demeanor, speech, etc., of one conscious of heavy responsibilities or cares, or of threatening possibilities: The jury looked grave while studying the evidence. Sober (from its original sense of freedom from intoxication, and hence temperate, staid, sedate) has come to indicate absence of levity, gaiety, or mirth, and thus to be akin to serious and grave: as sober as a judge; a sober expression on one's face. Solemn implies an impressive seriousness and deep earnestness: The minister's voice was solemn as he announced the text.

ANTONYMS FOR grave

1 frivolous, gay.

OTHER WORDS FROM grave

grave·ly, adverb grave·ness, noun un·grave·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH grave

gravely gravelly

Definition for graves (5 of 6)

grave 3
[ greyv ]
/ greɪv /

verb (used with object), graved, grav·en or graved, grav·ing.

to carve, sculpt, or engrave.
to impress deeply: graven on the mind.

Origin of grave

3
before 1000; Middle English graven, Old English grafan; cognate with German graben

OTHER WORDS FROM grave

grav·er, noun

Definition for graves (6 of 6)

grave 4
[ greyv ]
/ greɪv /

verb (used with object), graved, grav·ing. Nautical.

to clean and apply a protective composition of tar to (the bottom of a ship).

Origin of grave

4
1425–75; late Middle English; perhaps akin to gravel

Words related to graves

heavy, subdued, sage, quiet, earnest, sedate, sober, dull, dignified, muted, acute, major, threatening, pressing, killing, fell, crypt, sepulcher, catacomb, shrine

Example sentences from the Web for graves

British Dictionary definitions for graves (1 of 7)

Graves 1
/ (ɡrɑːv) /

noun

(sometimes not capital) a white or red wine from the district around Bordeaux, France

British Dictionary definitions for graves (2 of 7)

Graves 2
/ (ɡreɪvz) /

noun

Robert (Ranke). 1895–1985, English poet, novelist, and critic, whose works include his World War I autobiography, Goodbye to All That (1929), and the historical novels I, Claudius (1934) and Claudius the God (1934)

British Dictionary definitions for graves (3 of 7)

grave 1
/ (ɡreɪv) /

noun

a place for the burial of a corpse, esp beneath the ground and usually marked by a tombstone Related adjective: sepulchral
something resembling a grave or resting place the ship went to its grave
the grave a poetic term for death
have one foot in the grave informal to be near death
to make someone turn in his grave or to make someone turn over in his grave to do something that would have shocked or distressed (someone now dead) many modern dictionaries would make Dr Johnson turn in his grave

Word Origin for grave

Old English græf; related to Old Frisian gref, Old High German grab, Old Slavonic grobǔ; see grave ³

British Dictionary definitions for graves (4 of 7)

grave 2
/ (ɡreɪv) /

adjective

serious and solemn a grave look
full of or suggesting danger a grave situation
important; crucial grave matters of state
(of colours) sober or dull
phonetics
  1. (of a vowel or syllable in some languages with a pitch accent, such as ancient Greek) spoken on a lower or falling musical pitch relative to neighbouring syllables or vowels
  2. of or relating to an accent (`) over vowels, denoting a pronunciation with lower or falling musical pitch (as in ancient Greek), with certain special quality (as in French), or in a manner that gives the vowel status as a syllable nucleus not usually possessed by it in that position (as in English agèd)Compare acute (def. 8), circumflex

noun

a grave accent

Derived forms of grave

gravely, adverb graveness, noun

Word Origin for grave

C16: from Old French, from Latin gravis; related to Greek barus heavy; see gravamen

British Dictionary definitions for graves (5 of 7)

grave 3
/ (ɡreɪv) /

verb graves, graving, graved, graved or graven (tr) archaic

to cut, carve, sculpt, or engrave
to fix firmly in the mind

Word Origin for grave

Old English grafan; related to Old Norse grafa, Old High German graban to dig

British Dictionary definitions for graves (6 of 7)

grave 4
/ (ɡreɪv) /

verb

(tr) nautical to clean and apply a coating of pitch to (the bottom of a vessel)

Word Origin for grave

C15: perhaps from Old French grave gravel

British Dictionary definitions for graves (7 of 7)

grave 5
/ (ˈɡrɑːvɪ) /

adjective, adverb

music to be performed in a solemn manner

Word Origin for grave

C17: from Italian: heavy, from Latin gravis

Medical definitions for graves

grave
[ grāv ]

adj.

Serious or dangerous, as a symptom or disease.

Idioms and Phrases with graves

grave

see dig one's own grave; from the cradle to the grave; one foot in the grave; turn in one's grave.